Older Acura TLs

maxzoey

It's been about 4 weeks now my "check Engine Light " has been on in my 2002 TL. I have now been to the dealer 3 times. The last fix was to replace the emission contrl valves. The light was off for about 400 kms after they replaced the emission control valves. Phoned the dealer to tell him the light came back on and they are stumped. They are called Acura tech support next week to see if they have any fix for this problem. Has anyone else out there had this problem on their TL? Please help.

sutton4

According to the LA Times, Acura is having widespread problems with the auto trans in the TL. 16,000 have been replaced in the last 2 years.

Ouch.

lbjanedoe

I was ready to buy an Acura TL, but the recent news articles on the transmission problems scare me, so I'm leaning towards a Toyota Avalon. I like the Acura lines better, but I'm most concerned w/ long term reliability.
I'm sure the Acura fleet mgr will tell me not to worry, so I need your input before I go...

sutton4

Why be a guinea pig?

Honda has not been forthcoming on the defect.

Owners are waiting in lines to get their Honda transmissions replaced. Honda doesn't have enough parts.

Honda is putting rebuilt transmissions in, instead of new transmisions in, whats that going to do to resale value?

markz2k

Call the Acura customer service line, and tell them you're a potential TL buyer, but are worried about the tranny problems. Ask them what they'll do to relieve your concerns. See if they're willing to extend the transmission's warranty at no charge. At the very least, by calling you let them know that the issue may cost them some sales.

The phone number is in the Times article.

tju

An earlier post mentioned an article in the LA Times about bad TL transmissions. Does anyone have the citation for that article?

atluskane

Does anyone find that the TL has extrememly boring styling. I've only seen white TL's and they don't look exciting but I haven't seen a darker colored TL. Do the darker colored TL's look better? Also anyone who owns a TL type S how fast does it go from 0-60? I'm curious because I'm crosshopping with the G35. If the Tl Type S can at least compete with G35's performance than I would be happy

richard52

I've been reading alot about the tranny problems in the TL. I read the Consumer Reports auto issue and they give the TL their highest rating for reliability.. including the transmission. What's going on here? Either their research is flawed or these are isolated cases. Living in northern New Jersey I'm not aware of the LA Times article.

fastdriver

richard52-

Here's the URL to the article-

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/highway1/la-hy-acura11sep11.story

fastdriver

PS Seems that there are two TL topics here in TH- 3.2 TL and Acura TL-S.

benjr

If you are unable to view the LA Times article , go back to the TL discussions , click on "2 New transmission for my 2001 Acura TL" , and read post # 51 . It will direct you to the same article

ext25

http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-acura11sep11.story?coll=la-class-autos-highway1

scott31

Not sure about you, but I like blending in. I got two speeding tickets the first 3 weeks of ownership of my dark red Supra Turbo, and NO tickets the entire 3 years I spent with my STS.

As for the 0-60 time of the Type S, I've seen 6.2 printed in the likes of Car and Driver / MotorTrend.

I recommend the Type S over the regular model for the VSA system alone.

iwantaporche

I saw a 02 TL on the dealer lot that had a spoiler and woodgrain interior upgrades. I was told that the GM of the dealership ordered the car this way. The options amounted to over $1,000. Has anyone run across this upgrade and how much is the dealer cost compared to the retail for this option. I am negotiating and the lowest price so far is $27,800 w/ 6,000 miles.

amazon

You should be able to do better than that, I would think. That's a price you can get a brand new 2003 for.

iwantaporche

The people who have gotten good deals on 03 TL's are the cars from the dealers inventory or will a dealer search for a particular car for you and still offer the same price?

handelyourself

Called the number given on the LA Times. Acura was completely useless. They have obviously told their people supporting these lines about the LA Times article. His answers are pretty much pre-programmed to refer to the warranty and will not give any useful answers.

The official line is there is no problem, although they will acknowledge that they have a higher incident of transmissions problems than they would like, but they don't see it as a problem. This is not surprising. If I do encounter problems, I will be sure to return the additude to my Acura dealer. Oh, BTW the Acura hack told me that transmission problems have happened to less than 2%. What that number really boils down to is anyone's guess.

Looking at the LA Times article one might believe that this is problem with the Acura Type-S model. But they also cite the CL (non type-S model) as well. I have a regular 2003 TL. I'm inclined to believe that the Type-S buyers may drive their car a little harder, but I'm a bit skeptical that all those cases are due to abuse.

Here is my advice to folks looking into the Acura. Don't buy it. Honda like any other big business wants to make money. They will fight tooth and nail to stop a recall from happening, even if saves lives.

I already bought mine and now I have to live with the shadow of this everytime I drive my car.

handelyourself

I've heard mixed accounts on when your firsts oil change should be. Dealer tells me at 7,500 and not to change it at 3,000 when I drove off the lot. A few months later I get a letter saying that if I feel I need to change oil that I should come on in and have it changed at 3,500.

I changed it at 3,000. I'll do it again at 6,000.

dicarlo27

I recently bought the 2003 3.2 TL - I am very happy with the car. However, my wife has a 2002 Honda Accord EX. Her sound system is far superior to the Bose system that comes with the Acura. I was really surprised that a more expensive car within the honda family would have such a weak stereo system.

I am going to have to enhance my sound system. It sounds like a very cheap system. The sound sounds very hollow.

99solara

The Accord probably has separate tweeters mounted higher up in the cabin. This provides a much better sound in my opinion.

clpurnell

Article that honda is extending the warranty on their transmissions. I know it involves the oddy not sure about the tl though.

ext25

Too bad Honda didn't choose to fix the defect in the transmission.

Instead they are giving a warranty that is less than Hyundai or Kia's standard warranty and hoping people will accept it.

People are still going to be playing Russian roulette driving around in a Honda with these defective parts in the transmission, which by Honda's own admission are failing due to a defect.

Warranties don't solve defects.

Good customer service would.

tanveerm

In the market for a replacement on my '93 Accord. Budget constraints mean not the new '03, unless I go base-line LX, but I want V6, leather etc. My question is, which of the following used cars (both around Cdn$26-27k) would you choose?

A - a 2000-2002 Accord EX V6 with 20-30k miles
B - a 1999-2000 Acura TL with 35-50k miles

I drive 10k , mostly suburban miles per year. Married with two kids. Thanks in advance for any opinions.

richard52

I've been reading all these posts about the tranny problems in the TL. As an avid reader of Consumer Reports I find it hard to believe that their research hasn't uncovered this as they give the TL their highest rating for reliability.. including the transmission. Something seems to be wrong somewhere!

fastdriver

Here's the article-

http://www.detnews.com/2002/autosinsider/0209/21/autos-593168.htm

fastdriver

katherin

Just got back from a road trip to San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel, Yosemite, Santa Barbara, and downtown Los Angeles and the Navigation System/OnStar is truley a great feature. It got me where I wanted to go, helped me find restaurants, museums, hotels, and gas stations. I was dubious about paying the extra money, but now I am sold. I will never buy another car without it.

As for the performance of the car, great. I traveled highways, mountain roads, and city streets. I tested every system in the car and had no problems.

The car is fun to drive, looks great, and so far has been very dependable.

.

fastdriver

katherin-

Sounds just like my CL-S. Great fun to drive. Sorry I didn't get the NAV system. Next time for sure.

fastdriver

bklynguy

Does anyone know when the redesigned 04 TL will be released ? Any spy pictures with link and info on new features, will a MP3 player be available like with the new Accord ?

Thanks in advance.

arainmaker

My 2000 TL with 44K miles is nearly ready for new tires. The original Michelins never impressed me with their handling performance. Any ideas as to another tire brand/model that would work with the stock alloy rims would be appreciated.

jeffbe1

Does Haynes or Chilton have a service manual on 2000 TL?

hunter001

There are only 2 high-performance all-season tires in the stock size:

Bridgestone RE92
Dunlop SP Sport A2.

The Dunlop has a Temperature/Traction rating of AAA and a wear rating of 420 (Excellent). I would maybe go for the Dunlop, unless you intend to stick to the stock tires.

Later...AH

99solara

My 2 cents. I had the Bridgestones RE92 on my Toyota Solara. Same size as the TL stock Michelins that we all have.
The Bridgestones were NOT a good tire in my opinion. Poor dry traction even worse when wet. They did not last 30K.
If you want more agressive tires go for the Dunlops. I did on my Solara. These tires handle and ride well. Are more agressive than the Michelins and Bridgestones. Do not hold air as well as the Michelins so keep your eye on the air pressure. With 10K on them they appear to have a lot of life left.

Audiot

I'm thinking of getting above for my wife. Dealers in Vancouver ask for $10-15K.

Any word from the wise? I hear problems on tranny just dying. should I or shouldn't I consider this vehicle?

Thank you!

spe

I just bought an '03 3.2 TL for $27,700 plus $300 doc fees. I think it's a good deal but my husband doesn't. Any opinions???

shorr2

I attended a Chrysler "Route 2002" event this weekend in Albany, NY. You could test drive any Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicle; they also had three competitor's cars. The TL was the 300M's competition; I liked the TL over all of the other vehicles (the 300M with sport suspension is BRUTAL over bumps - the TL just glided over them). However I did notice a transmission problem during the full throttle acceleration test; it seemed to hesitate for a second or two and then the power really kicked in. Is that the VTEC switchover or a bad transmission?

hclll

Metro Acura is having clearance for this season. They offer $26,900 for a base TL with protection package. Is it a good deal?

I saw a lot of people talking about Tl transmission problem, is it particular for year 2000/2001 or every TL?

Another question, are all TL made in Ohio? If not, whats the difference in VIN?

jdone1

This problem has happened in about 1.6% of the tls from the 2000-2002 model years. Honda has extended the transmission warranty to seven years or 100k miles to compensate the involved owners. I would not let this stop me from buying a tl-I have loved mine. Yes, all tl and tls are made in Ohio,USA. Build quality still seems excellent.

richard52

I have to agree. The transmission problems seem to be over blown. A 1.6% failure rate is quite low. Consumer Reports gives their highest reliability rating to car components having less than 2% reported problems. The TL is well within that figure.. hence the TLs' high rating in Consumer Reports. After having spoken with many TL drivers I have been unable to find anyone (including myself) who have had problems with the tranny.

diploid

Also note that the 1.6% is not for the TL only. It includes several other Honda models too.

habitat1

I don't think so - that is a horrific automatic transmission failure rate given that the vehicles affected have only been on the road an average of 1-2 years. I cannot recall the source, but there was an article that indicated that Honda's own expected failure rate for an automatic transmission based upon past experience in the first 36,000 miles was less than 0.20%.

I am researching this matter, since I am considering replacing our Isuzu Trooper with a Honda Pilot that also uses a 5-speed automatic. I have not been able to determine if they are the same unit or share similar components, but I definitely have some anxiety about how Honda is dealing with this issue.

Extending the warranty is a nice gesture, but I don't want to buy anything new that has a known latent engineering defect. I was more than happy to wait for Honda to revise the S2000 transmission for the 2002 model based upon reported problems from 2000/2001 model year owners. I guess I can do the same for the Pilot.

jeffbe1

I agree that the rain is really loud in this car. Otherwise a great car

fredvh

Has anyone heard of any changes in the 2003 TL over the 2002 other than On-Star? How long will they continue building the 2003 TL before the new TL comes out?

ppeeppssii

Bought the car in Jan 2002. Have 18k miles including a 3500 mile road trip. The car gets 25-26 mpg around town/mixed driving but on the road trip (Det-Denver-Minn-Det) got a little over 30 MPG. This was cruising at well above 70 mph most of the time. The car is only turning a little over 2000 rpm at these speeds. I find this quite amazing considering the power the car can generate.
The car also handles very well in any normal situation. You have to really push it hard to get it to reveal it's fwd configuration. The stability system works but you'll have to drive real hard to see it.

Likes: Power, Handling, MPG, memory seats and mirrors, Steering wheel controls, sport shifter.

Dislikes: No height adjust on passenger seat, no rear seat fold down, no day driving lights.( we leave the low beams on but this makes some controls harder to read during the day)

Problems so far: Sun roof gasket, slightly noisy hvac fan.

Overall comment: Great value for performance oriented sedan buyer.

fredvh

Thanks for posting your TL experience on
Edmunds. I just have a couple of questions. I
love the drive and looks of the TL but my wife
finds the passenger seat to be uncomfortable.
Does your wife find it so?
What other models did you consider? I am
considering the 2003 ES300, the new 2003 Accord,
and the Camry. How did you find the TL to compare
to the other models you tested? Is the service
good and is it expensive?
I have read some Edmunds posts of
transmission trouble. Have you had any? Is your
TL covered now under the NEW extended
transmission warranty?
I tried your e-mail address listed here but it did not go through.

scottnhouston

We really like the TL and are nearly ready to purchase one. Does anyone out there have experience using a rear facing infant seat in this vehicle? If so, is there adequate room? Our due date is in a week.

Thanks.

fastdriver

scottnhouston-

If you can find RUSKI in these TL/CL discussion boards, I'm sure he will have an answer for you!

fastdriver

swebb2

Have a 2001 TL and we used a rear facing seat from the day our son was born until he was big enough to face forward. Never had any problems with the amount of room for him and he was on the higher end of all the size charts. Only 'bad' thing we had was that there is really no where on the TL to mount a mirror so you can see the baby from the front seat - unless you want to poke a whole in brand new leather.

amazon

WE have a two year old and an '03 TL. The car is fine for child seats. I'd make sure to put something between the base of your infant seat and the leather seating surfacein your car. The leather might be damaged otherwise from prodtruding points in the base.

sionghchan

I just bought a 2003 TL (non nav). I have 3000km on it now and here are my observations so far:

1) Funny that your wife said that the passenger seat is uncomfortable because my wife said the same thing. It isn't too bad but I suspect it is due to the lack of lumbar support.

2) This car drives fine. I enjoy driving it a lot. It is also very quiet. Certainly more quiet than the 2002/03 Camry V6, the 2002 Accord V6, Maxima, Altima V6 and the Infiniti G35. However, I'm not so sure how well it compares to the Lexus or the 2003 Accord.

3) Generally, the build quality is good. However, do be aware of rattles in this car. After owning it for 1 month, I found that the windshield is rattling against the body. Brought the car in twice now. The first time, Acura told me that it wasn't the windshield but a rearview mirror harness clip. After taping it down, I still experienced the same rattling noise. Finally, after dismantling the whole roof liner, we discovered that when the body gets stressed, the windshield will rattle against it! Thus, my car is to be sent to the bodyshop for repair...it's been 4 days now and I'm driving an Acura 1.6EL curtesy car.

4) My chair and seatbelt sqeeks as well. However, those are minor compared to the windshield rattling.

5) Wind noise around the A pillar. At highway speeds, the windnoise around the A pillar seems loud.

6) Slight vibration at around 100km/h. Once past that mark, it settles down.

So far, that seems to be my list of problems. One very positive thing about this car is its powerplant. Very smooth and eager.

Hope this helps.

fredvh

Thanks for your input. I will keep your comments in mind. I do hope that they can fix your rattle because those things can be irritating.

habitat1

Interesting that you indicate in #2 that the TL is more quiet than the Accord, Camry, Maxima, Altima and G35 and then proceed to describe winshield rattles, chair and seatbelt squeeks, wind noise and 60 mph vibrations. And this is virtually brand new car with only 3,000km?

Your definition of "quiet" must be different than mine. I will gladly take a bit more "road noise" that comes from some cars with sportier suspensions and tires than the TL, in exchange for a more solidly built vehicle absent rattles, squeeks and vibrations. Several of my friends and business associates who have purchased (U.S. built) TL's have also indicated they are not particularly happy with the build quality. I hope that you can resolve these annoyances on your car.

I am considering an Acura MDX or Honda Pilot as a replacement for our SUV and was curious as to whether any TL owners have received anything "official" from Honda/Acura on the 5-speed automatic transmission problems?